Pleased
by cupidity11
Summary: Poor Skoodge, always been in love with the most destructive Irken alive. ZimxSkoodge


Zim was a hardened irken invader, a solider for the armada and an elite specializing in operative weapons of the Empire. He had destroyed the things he was to protect more times than anyone sane should've been able to count.

Skoodge (Irken Invader of four planets and skilled in numerous useless things.), sighed and mentally tallied it down to about five thousand four hundred and eighty six. That time on Indonvinishia didn't count. Those Sniackerbocks had distracted Zim. It was an accident.

Said Irken was grinning, assuredly basking in the wondrous heated adrenaline that was the latest effort at world domination, hands placed cockily on hips wider than anyone would dare mention, those generous hips were connected to tiny legs, tiny arms, tiny feet, a tiny head, with too large magenta eyes and slightly off kilter antenna. The teeth, tinted pink from too many sweets, glistened in the fiery inferno in front of them. Zim was by no means handsome or cute or even remotely attractive. One might even call him homely, ugly, and maybe even hideous if you were particularly rude.

Skoodge glanced to the side, at Zim, and felt the tell-tale fluttering in his spooch that he'd had since a smeet. Only it was only around the destructive mongrel.

Skoodge thought Zim was fantastic.

"Uh. Great job, Zim." It was common place to feed Zim praise and encouragement. It made your death less likely. Plus, it kept Skoodge in his good graces.

"Of course! Zim is brilliant and oh-so-mighty! Obviously this plan cannot fail!" Another bout of tremendously, arrogant laughter broke out. This left Skoodge with enough time to think. About fourteen minutes he estimated, depending on the size of the explosion.

'Oh yeah', he thought, hands hanging limply by his own side as he watched the fire grow around the building, 'I'm so screwed.'

For as long as e could remember it had been Zim and him. The latter sacrificing Skoodge for his own gain most of the time. But, even though he'd felt the brunt of many years of pain and torture and hatred and accidents of goo monsters, Skoodge had never once spared a thought about leaving the Irken on his own. He'd always been around Zim, in one form or another, making sure the guy was okay.

Sighing, Skoodge closed his eyes, before opening them as a particularly large crackle of metal startled him.

No use in even entertaining the notion that he'd ever get away from the Irken Defect. There would be no getting away.

Nope. It was now physically and mentally impossible for him. Ever since, that night about four decades ago, on the planet where Zim's explosion had been an accident… Indonvinishia. The sky was purple there, with so many stars they filled they sky nearly. You felt as if you could reach up and grab a handful. The air was heavy with moisture and tasted of sugared strawberries.

They'd been training as elites that night, running about the sand dunes, popping through the vivid rocks that let you bounce about easily but also hid dangerous creatures. Zim was as giddy as could be, ignoring their instructor's warnings and jumping up and down on the rocks, squealing in hideous glee. Eventually, after much persuasion and false promises, he'd convinced Skoodge to do the same.

Together they bounced around on the rocks, pretending that there wasn't any danger abound. That they didn't have duties and responsibilities. Zim was like that, able to make even the most focused of people forget things they needed to do. He distracted them, whether it was with anger, laughter, pure frustration, confusion or in Skoodge's case, adoration.

Said Irken looked Zim, his spooch beating a million miles per hour, as they flew up and down in abandon, his antenna echoing with those peals of laughter. What made him feel this way? It hurt and felt so good all at once? What wa—

Suddenly, the ground was moving, the rocks shaking as the animal beneath began to stir at the motions and noise.

"Zim! The Sniackerbocks!" Skoodge screeched, falling backwards off the 'rock' that was actually the large beast. Zim's bounced a few more times, seemingly uncomprehending. Before he came to a stop, wondering why the earth below him was moving. How dare it? Then the magenta eyes widened with dread and shock, as he turned back to Skoodge and was flung away from the monster with a swish of its tail.

Zim went flying, screaming….screaming…the pudgy irken accomplice watched with dread as his friend hit the ground at least ten miles away with a loud thud.

'Three….Two…one…DOOM!' Both of the Elite's eyes widened as they realized that Zim's packet of explosives saved for their operative in his package of weapons was about to detonate.

"NOOOOOOO!" Skoodge yelped, thrashing out of the sand, running as fast as his stumpy legs would dare to let him. Worry pounded through his body, like a living entity, like a venomous virus that kept getting bigger, bigger, bigger until it seemed to take over every waking thought, slowed down time as he was forced to watch the large 'BOOM', and the scared look in Zim's mauve eyes the last few milliseconds before the flames engulfed everything within a fifty mile radius.

The memories after that were fuzzy. A blur of Skoodge running into that fire, feeling delusional but kept going as the fire seared his own flesh, the metal of his elite suit, sticking to his bones, the smell of his own blood nauseating but encouragement that he was still alive.

Reaching Zim, seeing the beautiful green skin, completely blackened, pink and blue blood soaking the red sand of the foreign planet. Never had he felt more ultimate and unending terror. It made him want to throw up, as the unfamiliar feeling of tears pricked at his eyes.

Then the movement of his Irken, the motion of breathing, of cursing in their native language…that relief was more powerful than anything he'd ever felt.

Words did not describe the strength it took to drag Zim from the glass like barrier around him, the sand having condensed and cooled. His Pak was slightly scorched, which was probably the only thing that kept him alive.

When they reached the camp, the medic was surprised they had lived but told him that Zim would heal in a few weeks.

Sitting in the room, Skoodge was afraid to touch Zim, but unable to stop himself he ran a thumb along the slightly blackened Pak, admiring the pure strength of the tiny irken on the cot. A sudden rush of adoration and compassion over took him, mind, body and soul. The loyalty he'd felt forever it seemed, grew ten times. He suddenly lived for the one second that Zim opened his eyes and prayed to whatever being out there, that Zim never came close to dying again. That he thrived and became the thing he wanted to be. That he got whatever he wanted.

One word, came to his mind, laying on the floor next to Zim, an old word that had been lost along the years of cloning and laws; Jemna.

The illegal process of making someone yours in every way imaginable.

Zim's laughter stopped, and that caused Skoodge to glance at Zim who coughed and brushed his hands off on his leggings. "Alright. We're done here, Skoodge." Turning on his heel, to hop back inside his Voot cruiser, he motioned for the other Irken to follow.

Skoodge grinned, loving the way his irken did that. Yep, he was so screwed. Falling in 'love' with an Invader who could never properly return his admiration. The one he was so enamored with was practically suicidal and homicidal, a masochist as well as a sadist, too destructive to be around anyone, with more baggage than anyone would ever guess, an enemy who was determined to be the Irken's murderer, and would probably kill Skoodge if a opportunity presented itself where he would no longer be useful.

Still, the Invader waited for him, albeit impatiently. That was something, right?

Climbing into the cruiser, Skoodge glanced at his Jemna, who looked so god damn pleased with himself as he started up the engines.

Leaning back in the seat, he smiled contently to himself, knowing he would never be able to really BE with Zim, but here on this little pitiful planet and helping the Irken he loved, there was question in his mind that Skoodge was pretty god damn pleased as well.


End file.
